Garrett Jones reacts after hitting a double to center field in the second inning.

Garrett Jones reacts after hitting a double to center field in the second inning.

Photo: Justin K. Aller / Getty Images

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Kevin Correia works during the first inning.

Kevin Correia works during the first inning.

Photo: Justin K. Aller / Getty Images

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Casey McGehee, left, celebrates after scoring on a sacrifice fly by Michael McKenry.

Casey McGehee, left, celebrates after scoring on a sacrifice fly by Michael McKenry.

Photo: Justin K. Aller / Getty Images

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Pedro Alvarez (24) celebrates after scoring on a RBI single by former Astro Clint Barmes.

Pedro Alvarez (24) celebrates after scoring on a RBI single by former Astro Clint Barmes.

Photo: Justin K. Aller / Getty Images

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Dallas Keuchel reacts before being pulled from the game.

Dallas Keuchel reacts before being pulled from the game.

Photo: Justin K. Aller / Getty Images

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Astros infielders watch as Fernando Abad warms up.

Astros infielders watch as Fernando Abad warms up.

Photo: Justin K. Aller / Getty Images

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Soldiers hold the flag during the National Anthem before the game.

Soldiers hold the flag during the National Anthem before the game.

Photo: Justin K. Aller / Getty Images

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<b><center>July 3: Pirates 8, Astros 7</b></center> Pittsburgh's Drew Sutton, right, gets doused with a bucket of water by teammate Casey McGehee as he is interviewed after the game. Sutton hit a walkoff solo home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to propel the Pirates past the Astros. less

<b><center>July 3: Pirates 8, Astros 7</b></center> Pittsburgh's Drew Sutton, right, gets doused with a bucket of water by teammate Casey McGehee as he is interviewed after the game. Sutton hit a walkoff solo ... more

Photo: Christopher Horner / Associated Press

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Garrett Jones of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits a two-run home run.

Garrett Jones of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits a two-run home run.

Photo: Justin K. Aller / Getty Images

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Garrett Jones of the Pittsburgh Pirates rounds second after hitting a two run home run.

Garrett Jones of the Pittsburgh Pirates rounds second after hitting a two run home run.

Photo: Justin K. Aller / Getty Images

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Astros catcher Jason Castro tied the game with a two-out, RBI double in the top of the ninth inning.

Astros catcher Jason Castro tied the game with a two-out, RBI double in the top of the ninth inning.

Photo: Justin K. Aller / Getty Images

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Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates beats out a ground ball.

Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates beats out a ground ball.

Photo: Justin K. Aller / Getty Images

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Pirates' Andrew McCutchen gets to first base with an infield hit.

Pirates' Andrew McCutchen gets to first base with an infield hit.

Photo: Keith Srakocic / Associated Press

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Pirates' Drew Sutton loses his helmet as he rounds third while third base coach Nick Leyva (16) greets him in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Pirates' Drew Sutton loses his helmet as he rounds third while third base coach Nick Leyva (16) greets him in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Photo: Keith Srakocic / Associated Press

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Pirates' Drew Sutton, center, is surrounded by his team in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Pirates' Drew Sutton, center, is surrounded by his team in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Photo: Keith Srakocic / Associated Press

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Pirates' Drew Sutton, center, goes to touch home plate as his team surrounds him.

Pirates' Drew Sutton, center, goes to touch home plate as his team surrounds him.

Photo: Keith Srakocic / Associated Press

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Neil Walker of the Pittsburgh Pirates turns a double play against Jed Lowrie.

Neil Walker of the Pittsburgh Pirates turns a double play against Jed Lowrie.

PITTSBURGH — Brad Mills no doubt has been mad before. But 406 games into his tenure as Astros manager, he acted on it in the most visible and least restrained way yet.

In the midst of the Astros’ seventh straight loss — this one 6-4 to the Pittsburgh Pirates — he was fed up after a mental misplay by Jordan Schafer. Often, those plays result in “we talked about it on the bench” or “young guys will learn,” but not Wednesday. Not with the team on a trying skid.

Schafer was pulled from the game with a few simple words, and even 20 minutes after the game, after Carlos Lee had been shipped out to Miami and Dallas Keuchel demoted, there hadn’t been any more words between the center fielder and manager.

“His play and behavior didn’t match what we needed to get done and what everybody was doing,” Mills said. “We came out of the gate busting our tail, guys going first to third and putting ourselves in a position to score a lot of runs. His behavior didn’t match what we needed to have done.”

The second-inning misplay was one of baseball’s basics. Schafer threw to the wrong base on a sacrifice fly, and the throw to third allowed Pedro Alvarez to reach second and ultimately score.

Gaffes galore

Schafer declined to go into the behavior aspect but admitted it was the wrong play.

“I should have thrown the ball to second base on the fly ball. Yeah, he’s right,” Schafer said. “It was a slow runner, and the ball was hit deeper than I thought. … He’s the manager. He did what he thought was right, and I have no problem with it.”

Schafer wasn’t guilty of the only miscues in the Astros’ ninth straight road loss. Later in that second inning, Jose Altuve looked Alvarez back to third while executing a rundown but then lost sight of Alvarez, who scored the Pirates’ go-ahead run.

There also was an error on Matt Downs that prolonged a two-run seventh after Downs had gone in at first when Lee was pulled for the trade. And J.D. Martinez was caught between third and home on what appeared to be a safety squeeze bunt to the pitcher.

9-31 on the road

“We’re not playing at the level where he can make those kinds of mistakes right now,” Martinez said. “We’re giving too many outs away. We’re putting too many runners for them in scoring position and giving them a really good chance to score runs.”

Keuchel (1-1) took the brunt of it, allowing four runs in 52⁄3 innings, though his demotion was for pure roster management purposes with the All-Star break coming up.

The loss dropped the Astros to 9-31 on the road and 32-50 for the season. And they’re getting mad.

zachary.levine@chron.com
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Pirates 6, Astros 4

Tipping point: A mess of a three-run Pirates second inning that featured two defensive miscues erased a second consecutive strong start to the game.

On the mound: Dallas Keuchel had trouble with the middle of the Pirates’ order as a couple of lefties, Garrett Jones and Pedro Alvarez, had rare success against a lefty.

At the plate: The Astros hit their second home run in six games of this trip as J.D. Martinez joined Scott Moore, but neither was particularly meaningful.

Under the radar: The Carlos Lee trade actually had an impact on the game. In the first defensive inning that Lee was gone, Matt Downs took over at first and made an error that prolonged the Pirates’ two-run seventh.